Semiconducting Polymers Containing Tellurium: Perspectives Toward Obtaining High-Performance Materials

Tritellurasumanene: ultrasound assisted one-pot synthesis and extended valence adducts with bromine

Tritellurasumanene is synthesized from a triphenylene skeleton via ultrasound assisted one-pot reaction. This compound adopts a flat conjugated system and displays TeTe (3.83 Å) interactions in the solid state. Its optical properties and chemical reactivity are quite different from those of its trithia- and triselena-analogues.

Triplet Tellurophene-Based Acceptors for Organic Solar Cells

Triplet materials have been employed to achieve high-performing organic solar cells (OSCs) by extending the exciton lifetime and diffusion distances, while the triplet non-fullerene acceptor materials have never been reported for bulk heterojunction OSCs. Herein, for the first time, three triplet molecular acceptors based on tellurophene with different degrees of ring fusing were designed and synthesized for OSCs. Significantly, these molecules have long exciton lifetime and diffusion lengths, leading to efficient power conversion efficiency (7.52 %), which is the highest value for tellurophene-based OSCs. The influence of the extent of ring fusing on molecular geometry and OSCs performance was investigated to show the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) continuously increased along with increasing the extent of ring fusing.

Synthesis and reactions of 4H-1,4-telluraborine

The 4H-1,4-telluraborine is a shown to be a versatile reagent undergoing both protonolysis and hydroboration, affording a new range of 1,4-telluraborine derivatives.

Temperature dependence of band gaps and conformational disorder in PEDOT and its selenium and tellurium derivatives: Density functional calculations

The conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), or PEDOT, is an attractive material for flexible electronics. We present combined molecular dynamics and quantum chemical calculations, based on density functional theory, of EDOT oligomers and isoelectronic selenium and tellurium derivatives (EDOS and EDOTe) to address the effect of temperature on the geometrical and electronic properties of these systems. With finite size scaling, we also extrapolate our results to the infinite polymers, i.e., PEDOT, PEDOS, and PEDOTe. Our computations indicate that the most favourable oligomer conformations at finite temperature are conformations around the flat trans-conformation and a non-flat conformation around 45° from the cis-conformation. Also, the dihedral stiffness increases with the atomic number of the heteroatom. We find excellent agreement with experimentally measured gaps for PEDOT and PEDOS. For PEDOT, the gap does not increase with temperature, whereas this is the case for its derivatives. The conformational disorder and the choice of the basis set both significantly affect the calculated gaps.

Lateral Extension of a Benzodithiophene System: Construction of Heteroacenes Containing Various Chalcogens

A series of linear acenes with five fused rings, which contain thiophene, selenophene, and tellurophene as the outmost rings, have been synthesized from well-known benzodithiophene (BDT). It was found that the optical, electrochemical properties and crystal packing motifs could be modulated by changing heteroatoms in the outmost rings.

Versatile telluracycle synthesis via the sequential electrophilic telluration of C(sp2)-Zn and C(sp2)-H bonds

We report herein a new approach for the synthesis of tellurium-bridged aromatic compounds based on the sequential electrophilic telluration of C(sp2)-Zn and C(sp2)-H bonds with tellurium(iv) chlorides. A combination of transition metal-catalyzed (migratory) arylmetalation of alkynes and sequential telluration allows for the expedient construction of a library of functionalized benzo[b]tellurophenes. Furthermore, a variety of heteroarene-fused benzotellurophenes and other novel tellurium-embedded polycyclic aromatics can be readily synthesized from the corresponding 2-iodoheterobiaryls.

Diverse Reactions of Thiophenes, Selenophenes, and Tellurophenes with Strongly Oxidizing I(III) PhI(L)2 Reagents

We report the outcomes of the reactions of aromatic group 16 thiophene, selenophene, and tellurophene rings with the I(III) oxidants PhI(OAc)(OTf) and [PhI(Pyr)₂][OTf]₂ (Pyr = pyridine). In all reactions, oxidative processes take place, with generation of PhI as the reduction product. However, with the exception of tellurophene with PhI(OAc)(OTf), +4 oxidation state complexes are not observed, but rather a variety of other processes occur. In general, where a C-H unit is available on the 5-membered ring, an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction of either -IPh or pyridine onto the ring occurs. When all positions are blocked, reactions with PhI(OAc)(OTf) give acetic and triflic anhydride as the identifiable oxidative byproducts, while [PhI(Pyr)₂][OTf]₂ gives pyridine electrophilic aromatic substitution onto the peripheral rings. Qualitative mechanistic studies indicate that the presence of the oxidizable heteroatom is required for pyridine to act as an electrophile in a substantial manner.

Selenium borohydride reaction as a versatile platform for the straightforward preparation of selenide-containing topological polymers

A simple and versatile method for preparing selenide-containing polymers with desired topologies is established based on the reaction of a selenide-functionalized borohydride exchange resin with end-functionalized polymers.

Facile access to unsymmetrically substituted tellurium–boron based heterocycles

Protonolysis and alkyne exchange reactions are used to give unsymmetrically substituted Te–B based heterocycles.

Effects of chalcogen atom substitution on the optoelectronic and charge-transport properties in picene-type π-systems

π-Conjugated 3,10-dialkyl-dinaphtho[1,2-b:2′,1′-d]chalcogenophenes incorporating S, Se, and Te as the central chalcogen atom were developed, and their optoelectronic and charge-transport properties were systematically investigated.

Probing the nature of peripheral boryl groups within luminescent tellurophenes

In this article our attempts to tune the color of luminescence within a new class of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) active tellurophenes is reported along with computational details that include spin–orbit coupling effects so as to better understand the nature of emission in the phosphorescent tellurophene (B-Te-6-B). Despite not meeting some of the initial synthetic targets, the emission within a borylated tellurophene can be altered with the addition of an N-heterocyclic carbene.

Marriage of heavy main group elements with π-conjugated materials for optoelectronic applications

This review article summarizes recent progress in the synthesis and optoelectronic properties of conjugated materials containing heavy main group elements from Group 13-16 as integral components. As will be discussed, the introduction of these elements can promote novel phosphorescent behavior and support desirable molecular and polymeric properties such as low optical band gaps and high charge mobilities for photovoltaic and thin film transistor applications.

An Air-Stable Semiconducting Polymer Containing Dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]arsole

Arsole-containing conjugated polymers are a practically unexplored class of materials despite the high interest in their phosphole analogues. Herein we report the synthesis of the first dithieno[3,2-b;2',3'-d]arsole derivative, and demonstrate that it is stable to ambient oxidation in its +3 oxidation state. A soluble copolymer is obtained by a palladium-catalyzed Stille polymerization and demonstrated to be a p-type semiconductor with promising hole mobility, which was evaluated by field-effect transistor measurements.

Dithienophosphole-Based Phosphinamides with Intriguing Self-Assembly Behavior

A new, highly adaptable type of phosphinamide‐based hydrogen bonding is representatively demonstrated in π‐conjugated phosphole materials. The rotational flexibility of these intermolecular P=O−H−N hydrogen bonds is demonstrated by X‐ray crystallography and variable‐concentration NMR spectroscopy. In addition to crystalline compounds, phosphinamide hydrogen bonding was successfully introduced into the self‐assembly of soft crystals, liquid crystals, and organogels, thus highlighting the high general value of this type of interaction for the formation of organic soft materials.

A Mechanistic Study of Halogen Addition and Photoelimination from π-Conjugated Tellurophenes

The ability to drive reactivity using visible light is of importance for many disciplines of chemistry and has significant implications for sustainable chemistry. Identifying photochemically active compounds and understanding photochemical mechanisms is important for the development of useful materials for synthesis and catalysis. Here we report a series of photoactive diphenyltellurophene compounds bearing electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents synthesized by alkyne coupling/ring closing or palladium-catalyzed ipso-arylation chemistry. The redox chemistry of these compounds was studied with respect to oxidative addition and photoelimination of bromine, which is of importance for energy storage reactions involving X2. The oxidative addition reaction mechanism was studied using density functional theory, the results of which support a three-step mechanism involving the formation of an initial η(1) association complex, a monobrominated intermediate, and finally the dibrominated product. All of the tellurophene derivatives undergo photoreduction using 430, 447, or 617 nm light depending on the absorption properties of the compound. Compounds bearing electron-withdrawing substituents have the highest photochemical quantum efficiencies in the presence of an alkene trap, with efficiencies of up to 42.4% for a pentafluorophenyl-functionalized tellurophene. The photoelimination reaction was studied in detail through bromine trapping experiments and laser flash photolysis, and a mechanism is proposed. The photoreaction, which occurs by release of bromine radicals, is competitive with intersystem crossing to the triplet state of the brominated species, as evidenced by the formation of singlet oxygen. These findings should be useful for the design of new photochemically active compounds supported by main-group elements.

Influence of the heteroatom on the optoelectronic properties and transistor performance of soluble thiophene-, selenophene- and tellurophene-vinylene copolymers

We report the first soluble poly(3-dodecyl tellurophenylene-vinylene) polymer (P3TeV) by Stille copolymerization and compare its properties to the analogous thiophene and selenophene containing polymers. The optical band gap of the polymers is shown to systematically decrease as the size of the heteroatom is increased, mainly as a result of a stabilization of the LUMO energy, resulting in a small band gap of 1.4 eV for P3TeV. Field effect transistors measurements in variety of architectures demonstrate that the selenophene polymer exhibits the highest mobility, highlighting that increasing the size of the heteroatom is not always beneficial for charge transport.

Polymers and the p-block elements

A survey of the state-of-the-art in the development of synthetic methods to incorporate p-block elements into polymers is given. The incorporation of main group elements (groups 13-16) into long chains provides access to materials with fascinating chemical and physical properties imparted by the presence of inorganic groups. Perhaps the greatest impedance to the widespread academic and commercial use of p-block element-containing macromolecules is the synthetic challenge associated with linking inorganic elements into long chains. In recent years, creative methodologies have been developed to incorporate heteroatoms into polymeric structures, with perhaps the greatest advances occurring with hybrid organic-inorganic polymers composed of boron, silicon, phosphorus and sulfur. With these developments, materials are currently being realized that possess exciting chemical, photophysical and thermal properties that are not possible for conventional organic polymers. This review focuses on highlighting the most significant recent advances whilst giving an appropriate background for the general reader. Of particular focus will be advances made over the last two decades, with emphasis on the novel synthetic methodologies employed.

Donor-acceptor small molecules for organic photovoltaics: single-atom substitution (Se or S)

Two isostructural low-band-gap small molecules that contain a one-atom substitution, S for Se, were designed and synthesized. The molecule 7,7'-[4,8-bis(2-ethylhexyloxy)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene]bis[6-fluoro-4-(5'-hexyl-2,2'-bithiophen-5-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole] (1) and its selenium analogue 7,7'-[4,8-bis(2-ethylhexyloxy)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene]bis[6-fluoro-4-(5'-hexyl-2,2'-bithiophen-5-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]selenodiazole] (2) are both based on the electron-rich central unit benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of one-atom substitution on the optoelectronic properties and photovoltaic performance of devices. Theoretical calculations revealed that this one-atom variation has a small but measurable effect on the energy of frontier molecular orbital (HOMO and LUMO), which, in turn, can affect the absorption profile of the molecules, both neat and when mixed in a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) with PC71BM. The Se-containing variant 2 led to higher efficiencies [highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.6%] in a standard organic photovoltaic architecture, when combined with PC71BM after a brief thermal annealing, than the S-containing molecule 1 (highest PCE of 1.0%). Studies of the resulting morphologies of BHJs based on 1 and 2 showed that one-atom substitution could engender important differences in the solubilities, which then influenced the crystal orientations of the small molecules within this thin layer. Brief thermal annealing resulted in rotation of the crystalline grains of both molecules to more energetically favorable configurations.